Search Results for: blog international waiting children

Helping the Children of Haiti

As happened after the 2008 earthquake in China, adoption agencies have had numerous phone calls from people offering to adopt earthquake orphans. As I mentioned in my earlier blogs, children orphaned in a natural disaster or war are usually not free for adoption for a period of anywhere from six months to a year. The infrastructure must be repaired enough to ensure that family members have had the opportunity to locate children. So what can be done to help the children? First of all, remember that there are many children, in our own country and abroad, who are eligible for … Continue reading →

The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another

This book is a tearjerker, but so much more. The Waiting Child: How the Faith and Love of One Orphan Saved the Life of Another is an adoptive mother’s account of adopting a four-year-old from an orphanage in China, then discovering that her daughter, at such a tender age, had already been responsible for caring for younger children at the orphanage—including one whom she called “her baby”. Even after bonding intensely with her “forever mama”, she advocates tirelessly for this little boy to be adopted also. She worries about him constantly, explaining that it was her job to dress him … Continue reading →

Extended Family Members of Adopted Children May Need Hepatitis A Vaccine

If you are beginning an international adoption, you’ve probably thought quite a bit about the health of your potential child. In a home study, you have had to address questions about your own health. A few of us might think 6 months ahead to plan for a trip to our child’s country. Even if we do begin a vaccination schedule for ourselves, we likely wouldn’t think of having our parents or other close relatives, neighbors and babysitters vaccinated. I know I didn’t. But that needs to change. In a sobering case, a 51-year-old adoptive grandmother was hospitalized earlier this spring … Continue reading →

Prospective Parents Health: Possible Impacts on International Adoption

My last blog began to address a reader’s questions about whether health conditions would disqualify someone from adopting. In that blog I talked about possible impacts on domestic infant adoption and adoption from state foster care. This blog will talk about possible impacts a health condition could have in pursuing international adoption. For international adoption, someone with a serious health issue may very well be disqualified by certain countries. Other countries can set their own standards on who is eligible to adopt. They often do not have the same anti-discrimination laws we do. Various countries have set conditions that their … Continue reading →

Will Changing Attitudes Toward Disabilities Affect the Future of International Adoption in China?

My last blog featured another profile of an elite athlete who was adopted—Jessica Tatiana Long, who was adopted from a Russian orphanage at 13 months of age, and had her legs amputated below the knee when she was 18 months old. She competed last week in The Paralympic Games in Beijing. These Games have brought changes to China, in both infrastructure and attitudes toward the disabled. Last May I wrote a blog about Chinese people applying to adopt earthquake orphans. This also represented a big change. Traditional beliefs in many parts of China included the importance of a pure bloodline, … Continue reading →

International Adoption Programs Open to Single Parents

As I mentioned in my last blogs, U.S. adoptions are open to single men and single women. In international adoption, two of the more well-known countries with adoption programs welcoming single parents have had big changes in their adoption programs recently. China has announced that it will no longer be open to single parents. Guatemalan adoptions are in flux as we wait to see whether Guatemala will comply with the Hague Convention on International Adoption. If it does not, adoptions to the U.S. (a signee of the Hague document) will cease. Although there is hope that adoptions currently in progress … Continue reading →

Books on International Adoption for Adults

I recently published a blog on books for adults on adoption from Korea and China. This followed a series of blogs presenting children’s books on adoption, from various countries and domestically. This blog presents books which deal with adopting from Eastern Europe, Africa, Vietnam and Latin America, as well as many books dealing with international adoption in general. Books on Adoption from Eastern Europe: Russian Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt a Child from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan Author: John H. Maclean Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption Author: Theresa Reid The Russian Word for Snow Author: Janis Cooke Newman … Continue reading →

Kids’ Books Starring Internationally Adopted Kids

In two previous blogs in my series on adoption-themed books for kids, I talked about adoption books specifically focused on children from China and on kids from Korea and Vietnam . This blog showcases books featuring children adopted from Eastern Europe and Latin America. I also highlight books which feature internationally-adopted children without specifying a country. Eastern Europe: Borya and the Burps: An Eastern European Adoption Story Author Joan McNamara tells of how Borya was used to being in his crib in the room with many other cribs, and how wonderful but how strange it is to be with parents … Continue reading →

What Kinds of Special Needs Do Kids Awaiting Adoption Have?

What comes to mind when you think of “special needs”? In the adoption world, a child with “special needs” is one with any condition or situation which makes them harder to place in a family. They could be a large sibling group, older, or simply boys. But most often, a “special need” refers to a medical or developmental condition. It might be an actual disability, it might be a condition that needs surgery but is correctable, such as cleft palate, it might be a risk factor such as extreme prematurity, prenatal drug or alcohol exposure, or it might be a … Continue reading →

Who are the Birthparents Who Place Children for Adoption, Part Two

Part One of this blog talked about countries where societal reasons are often the prevalent ones for placing children for adoption. This blog, Part Two, will deal with why children might be available because of economic hardship or being orphaned. The term “orphan” is misleading in international adoption. The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS, formerly the INS) defines an “orphan” as either one whose parents are dead, or whose “sole surviving parent” has relinquished custody. “Sole surviving parent” is also something of a misnomer. In some countries, if the couple is unmarried then the father is not … Continue reading →